foodwards

Food Award winners announced at Plymouth’s Big Food Debate

The winners of the 2014 Plymouth Food Awards were announced yesterday (10 June) at the first ever Big Food Debate at the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth [1], an event organised by Food is Fun and Food Plymouth, a city-wide partnership co-ordinated by the Soil Association.

The awards were created to celebrate some of the extraordinary efforts, skills and achievements of those who are bringing delicious healthy and sustainable food to people in Plymouth supporting the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter[2].

The winners of the 2014 Plymouth Food Awards were:

Best Local Food Producer: Riverford Organic

Highly Commended: Well Hung Meat Company

Sponsor: Tamar View Fruiterers

Best Local Food Product: Bread, Column Bakehouse, Devonport Guildhall

Highly Commended: Honey, Tamar Valley Coop

Sponsor: Devon Contract Waste

Community Food Award: Tamar Valley Food Hubs

Highly Commended: Fairport Coop

Sponsor: Plymouth Community Healthcare CIC

Sustainable Restaurant: River Cottage

Highly Commended: Jolly Jacks

Sponsor: Chadds / Foodsmiths

Sustainable Food School: Oreston Community Academy

Highly Commended: Yealmpstone Farm Primary

Sponsor: Food is Fun

Reconnect Award: Kingfisher Fish and Chips, Plympton

Highly Commended: Dolphin House Brazzerie, Sutton Harbour

Sponsor: National Marine Aquarium

Nigel Chadd, owner of Foodsmiths, sponsors of Best Restaurant Award, said, ‘Plymouth has a diverse array of Restaurants and Café within the City of Plymouth and Foodsmiths are proud to supply local speciality ingredients to a large proportion. Pressure is being placed on the independents with national chains coming into the city but the Food Awards focus on the local achievements and skills which bring quality and healthy foods into the city. Congratulations to all the businesses and organisations that were nominated and who received awards for their great work.’

Event sponsor, Steve Whiteway of Devon Contract Waste said:“The Plymouth Food Awards are a great way to recognise and reward best practice for people who are working so hard to bring good food into Plymouth, which is why we are so pleased to support them.”

Plymouth Food Awards 2014 – Vote Closed

This year’s Plymouth Food Awards have now closed for voting. Thank you so much for voting! We had such a great response this year, most exciting!

Who you think is doing the most to support the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter? The Charter supports a thriving local food economy to help create a healthy and sustainable city.

Winners were chosen from each of these categories;

Local Producer, Local Food Product, Sustainable Restaurant or Eatery, Sustainable Food School and Community Food Award.

The National Marine Aquarium Reconnect Award is for restaurants that deliver excellent information to customers on food provenance particularly with regard to the sourcing of seafood.

These Awards have been created to celebrate some of the extraordinary efforts, skills and achievements of those who are bringing delicious, healthy and sustainable food to people in Plymouth.

VOTING CLOSED ON 26TH MAY 2014

The Plymouth Food Awards are for individuals, organisations and businesses based within the Plymouth City Council area; as well as the food producers from Devon and Cornwall who supply produce into Plymouth.

One nomination per person for each category, voters can live anywhere.

Nominations and voting will made by the general public.

Final public votes will be added to a judges score on how they meet the 10 aims of the Plymouth Food Charter.

Final judging will by the Food Plymouth Partnership Steering Group; comprising representatives of public, private and third sector organizations from across Plymouth.

Food Plymouth reserve the right to withhold an award in any category if, in the judge’s opinion, no entry meets the necessary standard.

The judge’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Deadline for nominations is 30 April 2014

Public voting will be open from 1 – 26th May 2014

Awards will be presented at Plymouth Big Food Event on 10th June 2014.

Would your organization, business, school like to sign up to the Plymouth Food Charter? The Charter aims to improve health and well-being for all to create a more connected, resilient and sustainable city. Signatories to the Charter – which include public, private and community partners – are committed to raising public and institutional awareness of the pleasure and importance of good food and to create a vibrant and diverse food culture.

Plymouth Food Awards 2013 –winners

The Plymouth Food Award winners were announced and presented at the Food Plymouth Conference, by local restaurateur and chef Mitch Tonks, at the National Marine Aquarium.

Mitch Tonks said, “It is wonderful to be able to present these awards in Britain’s Ocean City, awards that celebrate all that is important about local food; about increasing our understanding and enjoyment of what is fresh, local, sustainable and good for all of us.”
The winners were all nominated and voted solely on votes from the public; supported by a final assessment by the Food Plymouth judges on how they met the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter[2] which promotes access to healthy and sustainable food within the city.

Now in their third year the Awards have been created to celebrate some of the extraordinary efforts, skills and achievements of those who are bringing delicious healthy and sustainable food to people in Plymouth supporting the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter

Nigel Chadd from Foodsmiths, sponsor of Best Restaurant Award, which was won by Rock Salt Café said, ‘Plymouth has a diverse array of Restaurants and Café within the City of Plymouth and Foodsmiths are proud to supply local speciality ingredients to a large proportion. Pressure is being placed on the independents with national chains coming into the City but the Food Awards focus on the local achievements and skills which bring quality and healthy foods into the City. Congratulations to all the businesses and organisations that were nominated and who received Awards for their great work.’Food Award winners are:

Most Sustainable Food Enterprise – Devon and Cornwall Food Association (DCFA) (Tamar Grow Local – Highly Commended) (sponsored by Devon Contract Waste)Alison Shaw from DCFA, who won two of the Awards, said: “Picking up the award for both the Community Food Award and Most Sustainable Food Enterprise is a real honour, particularly since it was voted for by the people of Plymouth. It is great recognition for all of the hard work for everyone involved and our on-going commitment to supporting the local economy and communities in Plymouth, whilst also reducing waste and emissions from food going into landfill.’

Denise Rudgley of Plymouth Community Healthcare said: “The Community Award is a very special award as it recognises the enormous contribution made by residents and groups in achieving the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter, that of improving health and wellbeing for all and promoting connected, resilient and sustainable communities. Devon and Cornwall Food Association are truly committed to these aims and really deserve this award.”

Traci Lewis, Food Plymouth Coordinator said: “There was a fantastic public response to Awards this year and so all of the winners and runners up were voted for soley by members of the public. We are really pleased with the calibre of winners and highly commended in each category, as they all represent the excellent range and diversity of work going on across the city which supports the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter, helping to make a more healthy and sustainable City for all.’

We would like to thank our sponsors for helping to make this initiative possible:

Tamar View Fruiterers www.tamarviewfruiterers.co.uk Independent family run business based in Saltash, supplying fruit and veg across the south west.

Plymouth University www.plymouth.ac.uk/With a mission to be ‘ the enterprise university’, Plymouth is a dynamic and innovative place to work and study, transforming lives through education, world-class research and innovationon a global stage.

Food Smiths www.foodsmiths.bizFoodsmiths was acquired by Chadds in 2008, and ever since has been bringing together manufacturers of delicious products and ingredients with discerning customers who wish to stamp their own uniqueness on their menu. With deliveries 6 days a week, throughout Plymouth, South and North Devon, Foodsmiths is the catering firm for you.

Devon Contract Waste www.dcw.co.uk Devon Contract Waste operates 1 of only 3 zero to landfill centres in the United Kingdom and currently processes 300 tonnes a day of waste, that would have otherwise been destined for landfill, recovering up to 89% of general waste which is a first in Plymouth

Plymouth Community Healthcare CICwww.plymouthpct.nhs.uk Supporting people to be Safe, Well and at Home. Plymouth Provider Services provide a comprehensive portfolio of community services to the population of Plymouth and its surrounding area, with a mixture of generalist and specialist service delivery.